Hurt, Scared, and Lied To
by fanfictionisworthit
Summary: This is from Draco's point of view about what he really faces in life. He's assigned an awful task and everything is just going downhill. But one thing might change his opinion on life.
1. Chapter 1

I let out another sob that I miserably failed to hold it. I wasn't scared to cry when no one saw, but I was scared that someone would hear. Actually, not just someone. _Father_. I was scared that Father would hear.

Mother promised me that she would keep me safe this time. But of course, she was just as scared as Father as I was. I trembled in the darkest corner, curled up into a ball, new bruises along my body and tears streaming down my hot face. My head was pounding with pain, but whether it was from the blows I received, or the crying, I couldn't tell.

"YOU WORTHLESS, VILE ADOLESCENT!" my father had roared at me as I cowered from his blows, on my hands and knees.

"Please, please, I'm sorry," I begged for mercy from Lucius Malfoy.

"YOU SHOULD BE SORRY THAT YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WILL INHERIT MY FORTUNE! YOU SHOULD BE SORRY THAT YOU'RE ALIVE!" he bellowed, his words slurred, and he hit me numerous times after those words. I got away after what seemed an eternity of striking pain and being two times under the Cruciatus curse from my wasted drunk father. I choked out yet another sob at the memory of what happened minutes ago and brought out my silver pocket knife. I didn't care that it was a muggle object; it did a fine job with what I needed it to. I looked at my arms through blurry eyes. They both had so many scars it was hard to imagine that I even had any more room to cut myself. But I took the knife in my left hand, deciding that I really had no more room on my left arm since I was naturally right handed, and cut another slit in a sea of hundreds on my right arm. As the blood oozed out, I felt all the bad things trickling out of my body as well.

After a couple more minutes, several more cuts, and about 5 charms to get rid of the raging headache, I stood up, still whimpering and trembling, and went to my room. I shut the door quietly, so he couldn't hear where I was. I washed the remaining blood from my arms in my bathroom, and then changed into pajamas. Another muggle thing, yet they were far more comfortable than a night dress. Or maybe I just wanted to be as different as my father as I could. As I laid down in my bed, I realized that tomorrow, I would be going to Hogwarts for my sixth year. This was the best news I've found in a long time. This summer had been the worst so far. I had been branded with that awful Dark Mark and sent off to kill Dumbledore.

That was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Severus Snape were the only men I could look up to as father figures. They protected me, kept me safe from harm. And now I had to kill one of my idols, or I would be killed myself. Several times, I had been very close to plunging that knife straight into my heart this summer. I cried myself to sleep, as usual.

The next morning, I woke up feeling something I hadn't felt in a long while. I felt…happy. Don't take it as if I was bursting with joy, but there was enough for me to smile about a minute in the mirror after I showered and got dressed and ready. Then I remembered my assigned task, and the smile and any traces of happiness faltered. Mother and Father took me to the station, and I went to platform 9 ¾ alone. I hugged my mother goodbye and she kissed my forehead.

"Stay strong, Draco. For me," she whispered in my ear, and with that, I let go. After shooting a hard glare and sharp nod to Father, I got on the platform and boarded the train. Pangs of jealousy and new founded pain shot through my heart as I saw happy parents, aunts and uncles bidding goodbye to their children. Especially the fathers wishing their sons good luck and telling them in a joking manner that they should cause a little mischief. But what struck pain through me most was that the son, father, and even mother laughed happily. How much I longed to have a family like that. And then there was Potter with the Weasley's. He had a family, no matter what anyone said. He had the Weasley's, even those twins. I longed for brothers like that. Who made me laugh.

I boarded the train to find those buffoons who I had to call my friends. Or else, of course. Then Pansy came and hugged me, squealing. She was plainly stupid, pug-faced, and a bimbo. The fact that she had gotten me drunk on numerous occasions for her own slutty needs made me gag, which I covered up with a cough. And then there was also the truth that she was more than likely to be my wife one day, just because she was Pure-Blood. That just did it. I shoved her off me and ran to the train bathroom. I kneeled in front the toilet and threw up. I stuck my fingers up my throat and made myself throw up more, the pain and torture I caused myself felt…good. Better than the way my life was going, anyways. After 5 minutes of repeating this, I stood up, flushed the toilet, and rinsed my mouth. The train started moving and I went to my compartment. I was forced to boast in front of Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and a couple others of my Dark Mark, because if not, they would go to their Death Eater parents, whom would go to my father, who would hit me. Again.

There came a knock on the compartment door, and outside stood a girl who I had never seen before. She looked about the same age as me, and she looked shy. I slid the compartment door open, overjoyed for an excuse to stop talking about my Dark Mark.

"What do you want?" I snapped. "And who the hell are you?" I didn't want to be mean to her, but I had a reputation that I had to maintain.

"The name is Rose. Rose Joyce. I was wondering if I could sit," she said, shyly, motioning to the empty seat in my compartment. She had an American accent. I couldn't hide my shock as much as I tried; I gaped.

"W-we don't accept Americans in Hogwarts," I said, slowly.

"I know. But Uncle Sev insisted that I attended here for my last two years, even if I already know far more than 7th years," she replied casually.

"U-Uncle S-S-Sev?" I stuttered, bewildered.

"Uncle Severus Snape, yes," she said.

"Professor Snape doesn't have any siblings, if you've forgotten, but nice lie," I smirked.

"Oh, I know. But he has cousins, and my mother happens to be his cousin. Along with her sisters and brother. So therefore, he's sort of my uncle, and he likes it when I call him Uncle Sev," she said, smiling. "And who are you?" she asked warmly.

"Draco Malfoy," I answered quickly.

"I hope you have a nice year," she said, with so much truth that it hurt. I knew it was going to be an awful year.

"Whatever. Anyways, no, you cannot join us," I snapped, and shut the door in her face. She shrugged and moved on. The rest of the train ride was uneventful, and when we got to Hogwarts, I was happier than I had been all summer. Not that I showed my love of Hogwarts on the outside, though. At the Opening Feast, I just picked at my food, silent. Memories and the task I had been assigned haunted my brain.

"And now, I believe Professor Snape has a word to say," Dumbledore's words brought me back to earth. Snape approached the podium.

"Thank you, Headmaster. I do wish to say that my niece is attending this year. If I hear that she is being harassed in any way possible, or comes crying to me for any reason or about anyone, I can and will expel the person who is giving her trouble. She is from the States, and that is even more of a reason to treat that girl with respect. A bad impression from each one of you represents our whole country. Remember that. Without further ado, I wish to invite her to say a few words," he finished his speech, and the girl from the train came from the Gryffindor table up to the stage.

"Thanks, Uncle Sev. All I want to say is that I want to thank you all for immediately accepting me, though I'm different. And one more thing. You shouldn't let words steal your glow. This goes out to everyone in here, all the girls and boys in here. So whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold. Hold your head high, and just don't let anyone hurt you. You're really worth more than anyone who dares to hurt you, whether verbally or physically. Shine," she said, smiling. She locked eyes with me for a second, and I felt that the whole speech was directed towards me.

I took that time to really look at her. She had sleek, curly, dark brunette hair. And what astonished me most were her golden eyes. They almost had a glow to them. Her smile was so true and warm that it sent another wave of jealously searing through my heart. She had something to smile about. Something that I never had. As soon as the feast was over, I dashed out and went to my dorm. I changed and was in bed before any of the others were in the dorm. Rose Joyce's happiness was still haunting me and once more, I cried myself to sleep once again. Nightmares bothered me all night long, and I didn't get much sleep. Little did I know what I would find that year.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day brought headaches, and my 'friends' were urging me to get the task over with now. I told them that this type of thing took time and they should piss off. They luckily did, seeing that I was not in the mood. I was lost in my thoughts as I was walking down the hallway. Someone smacked their hand down on my books, making them tumble out of my arms and sprawl all over the floor.

I looked up, alarmed and suddenly scared to the point of wanting to cower in the corner again. A group of guys, Slytherins like me, were laughing evilly and pointing.

"What, Malfoy? Are you gonna cry?" one of the guys, at least two times bigger than me, taunted.

"Leave him alone, are you really heartless?" a girl's voice snapped from behind me. "I can easily tell Uncle Sev to expel you for that. He did nothing to you, you bitches!" I turned to see Rose Joyce, the American girl. She gave me a smile, before down right slapping the leader of the group that was taunting me. His head turned to side from the force of the blow that she gave him. There was a bright red mark in the shape of her hand on his face.

"Pick on someone your own size, will you?" she snarled, and then leaned down. She began picking up my books. I stood motionless as she gathered my things and plopped them into my arms again.

"T-thank you," I stuttered when all my books were back in my arms. She tugged my sleeves down a little further.

"People have it a lot harder than they realize. And some people really don't need any more," she said softly. I swallowed.

"Did you see-?" I asked.

"Yeah, I did. And trust me, I know Lucius better than most. After all, he is Uncle Sev's best friend. I won't let him hurt you," she whispered, and with that, she left. I was left alone, staring in the direction she flounced off, mouth wide open. I ran off to my dorm and dropped off my books, before running to the Gryffindor tower.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked.

"I…don't have one. I just really need to see someone."

"Ah, I cannot let you in. Unless a Gryffindor grants you permission, I do not wish to see you try to enter any more. That is settled," the Fat Lady said, and that was that. There was no way to get in. I heard footsteps coming towards me, but I stayed rooted to the ground, sighing.

"Malfoy? Why are you here?" Granger's voice snapped, with evident disgust.

"I'm here to see someone," I answered calmly, not turning to face her.

"Who?" she asked, and I could practically see her rolling her eyes.

"Rose," I breathed, the name sounding melodic.

"Rose? Oh, the new bitch. She keeps going on with the other bitches about someone, but they shut right up every time we pass by. They always giggle and blush," Granger scoffed.

"Don't call her a bitch!" I finally snapped, turning to face Granger. "Never. Call. That. Girl. A. Bitch."

Granger laughed a cold laugh. "Someone's got a little crush, do they?" she laughed.

"No. She…she just helped me today. A lot. And I need to thank her," I said, though my face was flaming.

"Alright, I'll get her," Granger smirked. She disappeared inside of the common room, and brought Rose out a couple minutes later. Rose smiled.

"Yes?" she asked softly.

"I wanted to properly thank you," I mumbled, looking at the floor.

"Aw, there is no need. It was fun slapping someone," she laughed. Her laugh was warm. She wrapped her arms around me, surprising me. I hugged her back, and put my head on the top of hers.

"Thank you," I said into her hair, holding her close.

"It was the least I could do, but if you want to repay me, please let me breathe," she said in a strangled voice, but laughing. I released my grip on her, and she took large gulps of air.

"Sorry," I said, smiling sheepishly. She giggled, and kissed my cheek.

"Get. Your. Paws. Off. My. Son," someone growled behind me. I immediately knew who it was, and I, out of instinct, jumped behind her, cowering.

She only rolled her eyes and let out a cruel laugh. "Aw, Lucifer, are you suddenly territorial of your punching bag?"

He glowered. "That's not my name, little girl, haven't you learned about manners?" my father asked, with a suddenly amused air.

"I have, actually, but you don't deserve respect. Maybe had you been mature enough and told Estella, Narcissa would have actually been Draco's mother," she replied plainly.

My father's eyes went wide with panic. "CHILD!" he yelled at Rose, but not mean, he just sounded terrified now.

"Father..? What does she mean that Narcissa WOULD have been my mother?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing," he answered quickly.

"He raped a Gryffindor half-blood and got her pregnant when they were 17. She named you Draco because that means 'devil' or 'little devil' in Latin. You were the son of Satan himself, according to her. She plopped you in his arms the minute you were born, and hasn't been seen since."

My jaw dropped open. "W-what..?" I was so shocked and hurt it was beyond words. All my life…I had been lied to. About whom my own mother was! Wasn't it bad enough that I got beaten for no reason? I looked at my father with disgust. "Right. I'm the awful, vile one," I snarled.

"Come on, Draco, let him go die in a hole," she said, and took me by the hand. She led me right into the common room and then to her dorm. I followed, and she motioned for me to sit on her bed. I did so, anger boiling up inside of me. I had been lied to my whole damn life. About whom my mother was. And everyone played along. No one ever thought to tell me the truth. Not one person. I hadn't even noticed that she had lain down.

"Draco? Come back to Earth," she said, with a small smile. I looked at her, and she patted the spot next to her. I lay down next to her, thinking, and letting myself simmer down, but the anger just wasn't going away.

"Everyone but you lied to me. For 16 years, I've been lied to over and over and over again. Nobody thought that I might want to know that my mother isn't the woman who is married to my father."

"I know. I only know because of a couple visions I had. And then I asked Uncle Sev about it…and he confirmed. I mean, mostly because he was there when she pummeled him over and over for getting her pregnant," she image of my father getting hurt…by the girl he raped was a rather comforting image in my head. I don't know how, but it was.

Because of my father, I was hurt, scared, and lied to. That night, I was literally too scared to go to my dorm. Rose invited me to sleep in her dorm, and I agreed. This was the first night in ages that I didn't cry myself to sleep. I wasn't very tired, so I watched her sleeping and breathing deeply. Her mouth was in a smile, and I couldn't help wondering what she was dreaming about that made her smile. And I felt happy that she had something nice to dream about.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up the next day, unable to remember when or how I fell asleep. I saw Rose still sleeping soundly next to me. The sunlight streaming in the window was blinding and I cast a quick charm to see the time. It was one thirty in the afternoon and I was glad that it was Saturday. I gently nudged Rose until she was awake. She swore at me and threatened quite a few times to murder me, but she didn't even open her eyes. Obviously she wasn't a morning person, if you could consider this morning.

After half an hour, she was up and in the showers, having left me alone. She came out with a towel wrapped around her body and another towel wrapped around her hair in a sort of messy turban.

"Aren't you going to wand dry your hair?" I asked.

"No! Why would I do that? My hair always ends up as bad as Granger's if I wand dry! Bitch, I let my hair dry naturally," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Sorry! I'm not an expert on hair!" I said, putting my hands up in a subsiding motion, but I was smiling. She walked over to me, rolling her eyes.

"You have amazing hair," she said, sitting down next to me.

"Why, thank you. I take pride in it, as it is the only part of my body that isn't..." I trailed off. I felt ok with talking so openly with this girl that I just met. She was already ruffling through her trunk and pulled out a pair of tight jeans and a t-shirt. Americans. She went to the bathroom and changed.

"How do I look?" she asked, and posed. I laughed.

"Like a muggle model," I said. Then I put on my best gay voice. "Girl, you look fabulous!"

She laughed and then started singing some muggle song I didn't know. It was pretty sad though, the words had a lot of meaning.

"Come on, then, let's go before someone thinks we're dead," she said, after she finished. I nodded and stood up. We walked out of her dorm, to the complete horror of the Gryffindors. She shrugged them off and kept walking. I admired her for this. She didn't care what others thought of her. Or at least she didn't show it. I had no idea where she was leading me, but we never got there. We bumped into a surprised Snape.

"Rose, do you care to explain why people have been telling me that Mr. Malfoy spent the night with you?" he asked.

"He did spend the night with me. I invited him to sleep with me, which literally meant sleep, don't look at me like that, I'm not a whore. Ok, if I was a slut, everyone would have known by now. But I'm not! See, he was scared of his father. Which I don't blame him. I mean, who wouldn't fear for their behinds when Lucifer was in the castle?" she asked, and then turned a bright pink. "I...mean…uh…."

Snape suddenly started laughing. Truly laughing. This was the first time I ever saw Severus Snape laughing. He looked so much younger without the scowl on his face. And then the fact struck me that he didn't look younger, he looked his age. I realized that he was no older than 32 or 33. He had gone to school with Father.

"Did-did you just call Lucius Malfoy 'Lucifer'? My God, Rose! That is the best nickname I've heard for him! I think that just made my life," he laughed. He pulled her into a hug, and she hugged him back. I swallowed down a sob. It hurt to see that even _Snape _loved someone. He treated her like a daughter. It seemed that everyone had a father or a father figure who loved them and spoiled them.

"Uncle Sev, I've got to go get a breath of fresh air with Draco now, if you'll excuse us," she said, smiling. Snape nodded, and left, still laughing. She smiled at me, and motioned for me to follow. I did follow her, and she led me outside. She sat under a weeping willow tree that cast shade and looked peaceful. I sat next to her. She lay down and looked at the cloudless sky. I did the same. It was peaceful, and soon I found myself daydreaming. It was nice to have something to do without consequences. Rose was on her feet with her wand out before I knew what was even happening. I looked to where she was looking. Why was I not surprised to see Father?

"Well, well, I would have never guessed that you are the niece of my best friend," he smirked.

"I am, in fact. But that shouldn't be your biggest concern right now. You're a little spoiled bitch who doesn't know what life really is about. Life is about love and _family_. It's about happiness. Which, by the way, you haven't been providing for your only child. And I'll go to any limit to give him just that," she said.

"You stupid little girl! Life is about pain and suffering! _Crucio_!" Father yelled, pointing his wand at her.

The world seemed to slow down as I watched in horror the scene before my eyes. The Unforgivable spell hit her, but she didn't cry out in pain or anything of what I expected. She just staggered as if she received a blow to the head and fell down. Problem was, she wasn't showing obvious signs of life like screaming in agony and pain.

Father laughed cruelly, and then left me and the unconscious girl. I kneeled next to her, checking for a pulse and for breath, but I couldn't seem to function right. I could barely feel a pulse, but she was breathing normally.

I picked up Rose, who was limp in my arms. I carried her to the hospital wing, not caring anymore if anyone saw me crying.

_**AN: Please review! :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

I carried Rose, who was limp and unconscious, to the hospital wing. Tears were streaming down my face, and my vision was rather blurry. I could practically feel the stares.

The Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws were just plainly shocked that they were seeing _the _Draco Malfoy crying. I doubt that they even noticed Rose. However, the Slytherins were laughing and taunting me.

"Hey, Malfoy, what'd you do to her?" someone whose voice I vaguely recognized, jeered. "Kill her?"

"Malfoy, are you _crying_? Awh, look at Malfoy everyone, he's crying like a wittle baby!"

"Malfoy, you're embarrassing me! Get your act together!"

And then there was Pansy, who went all psycho freak on me.

"Oh. My. God. Draco, how could you?! Walking around with another girl! And she's the awful American, Snape's niece! She's a damn Gryffindor! Why are you crying over the bitch?! I'll bet anything you want that she's a whore like the rest of them! I love you!" Pansy was making a public show of me, as if I wasn't already.

"But I never loved you! You're a complete idiot who probably was born without any brain cells whatsoever, and if it weren't for you, I would have still been pure! You're the absolute whore here, not her! You are such a selfish bitch, and you have no clue! Get your ugly, two-faced arse out of my way before I make it happen!" I yelled at her, all my anger exploding out of me. I was glad she had enough brain cells to think that it was a good idea to get out of my way. Everyone fell silent, no more taunts and cruel words towards me.

I sped up and got to the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfery came hurrying out of her office at the sound of footsteps. She nearly screamed at the sight of Rose, and I laid Rose down on the nearest bed.

"Father…" I swallowed, trying to stop my seemingly endless tears. "Father cast a spell on her and she fell down, unconscious, so I brought her here." Pomfery didn't ask what spell or why, she got to work immediately, taking a medical dialysis. After what seemed like forever, Pomfery turned to me with a grave expression. I was scared of what I was about to hear.

"She's in a coma, darling. I can't promise that she'll ever wake up," she said, and then turned and left the wing. She left me to crumble to the floor in sobs at the foot of Rose's bed. Why was I so emotional when I heard this? Could I actually have feelings for this girl?

Then I realized that I did have feelings for her. And once more in a sea of countless times, my happiness was being torn away from me. I finally gathered myself together, and stood up. I sat at the edge of the bed, and then I laid down next to her. I wrapped my arms around her, and held her close to me for a while. She probably couldn't feel it at all. I slowly unwrapped myself from her, giving up the small shred of hope that I had that she would wake for me. At least for tonight, I knew for certain that she wasn't going to wake up.

I walked over to the fireplace, where a fire was burning merrily. I was cold. I slowly reached out to the flames. The heat was getting more and more intense on my fingers as I extended my hand to the blaze. My fingers touched a flame and I could feel a burning, stinging, most utterly painful sensation shooting through my fingers and hand, although I didn't draw back. Again, the pain felt amazingly good to me. I closed my eyes, letting my skin burn.

I yelped and drew back my smoldering hand as someone appeared in the fireplace. I had hardly thought that someone would floo in here. I yelled in terror as I saw who the man who flooed in was. Not my father, but almost as frightening. I stumbled back on my feet and backed up to Rose's bed. I put my arms up, as if to shield her.

"Don't you dare hurt her," I told him.

"I wouldn't hurt her for the world," he said.

This man was none other than…

_**AN: Cliffhanger! Review if you want more :) **_


	5. Chapter 5

This man was none other than…Sirius Black. The murderer.

"You…won't hurt her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, though I probably wasn't very intimidating with tear stains and a burned hand.

"No. But…may I see her?" he asked, making his way over to her. I couldn't force myself to stop him. I wanted to, but I felt paralyzed on the spot. He only looked at her with the care of a father.

"Why are you here? How do you know her?" I blurted before I could stop myself.

"Well, Lily, Harry's mother, was her godmother. See, her mother was one year older than Lily, and of course, Snape. Her mother was married and had the child at 18, around the time you were born. Snape insisted that his cousin go to Lily to baptize her, and Lily gladly agreed. Her father died shortly after James and Lily, and she was left in my and Remus's care before I was accused of murder. We got pretty emotionally attached to her, you see."

"You knew Professor Lupin?" I asked, bewildered.

"Oh, that's right. I keep thinking you know who everyone is. Yes, I knew Professor Lupin, and I still know him."

"She's related to _Potter_?"

"Yes, she's related Harry. Not that he knows, and don't tell him. I think he'd be upset if he knew that he had other family," he said. He took one last look at Rose, before flooing out, leaving me to think about what just happened.

"What just happened?" I asked the air. I went back to Rose, brushing my hand through her brunette hair. Then, I noticed her necklace. It was a simple gold cross.

For the first time in my life, I put my hands together and bowed my head down and prayed. It was an old prayer I'd heard my mother…or who I thought was my mother at that time anyways. And I wasn't praying for myself. I was praying for her. That she would be alright. After I was done, I lay down next to her and took her hand in mine.

I could swear that I felt her holding my hand back, but when I let go, her arm fell limp. I took her cold hands in mine again, and I fell asleep, repeating the prayer in my head over and over again. The next morning I awoke to Pomfery yelling at me to get away from her for the time being.

"What?" I asked, opening my eyes to the blinding light.

"I need to check up on her and I cannot do it with you in my way," she said sternly. I got out of the bed, reluctant to leave her. Pomfery sighed, and told me to go to class.

I followed her orders. I went to Potions. Slughorn went on casually, praising Potter as usual. I could hardly keep my head in class. I noted that Potter kept eyeing me suspiciously and whispering to his friends. Granger just scoffed and rolled her eyes. So casual of her.

After Potions was done, I went to DADA. Snape wasn't there. Lupin was there. I went up to him.

"Why isn't Snape here?" I asked Lupin, surprised to see him at the school again. He sighed.

"Professor Snape is dealing with some…family problems. They say that his niece recently…passed," he said, calmly. I felt like I was going to throw up my heart. I shook my head, my vision getting watery.

"No. She can't. No," I said. "When?" "They say that she…left…about a half hour ago," he tried to explain to me tranquilly, seeing my agitation. I only ran out of the classroom, tearing my way through students who were still in the halls. I ran to the hospital wing, to see Snape with his head in his hands and Pomfery consoling him.

"Is it true?" I asked, my voice cracking. Pomfery turned. She nodded soberly.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she's in a-" I cut Pomfery off.

"SHE'S NOT IN A BETTER PLACE IF SHE'S DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD! SHE CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE EVERY OTHER SHRED OF HAPPINESS I EVER HAD!" I bellowed, sinking to the floor beside her bed. True enough, her chest wasn't moving up and down in breath anymore. Both Pomfery and Snape looked at me bewildered, probably because I was acting worse than Snape when it came to this. Snape's eyes were red and puffy, but I could tell that he hadn't blown up like I had. She just couldn't do this to me. I took her hand, feeling for a pulse at her wrist, but there just wasn't one. I looked up towards the sky.

"Why? What did I ever do to deserve this?" I asked no one in particular. She was, just like every other good thing in my life, gone on the wind.

"Please, please. Don't. Don't leave me. Please, Rose," I said to her. But I knew that all hope was gone. She wasn't coming back. No matter what.


	6. Chapter 6

For the next couple of days, I was just silent and distant during the day. At night, I cut myself far more often than usual, which was saying something. Quite a couple times, I blacked out from blood loss. I would wake up in the morning, soaked in a pool of my own blood. I usually cleaned myself up and then went to class.

I also noticed that Snape was no where to be seen. It seemed that Lupin had the job now. To anyone who tried to talk to me, I just dismissed them with a silent wave of my hand and then walked off.

On the following Friday, I just couldn't take it anymore. I walked up to the room of requirement and went in, unable to take the stares and the pressure anymore. And then there was my task that I wasn't focusing on at all. I curled up into a ball in a dark corner and cried. I didn't hurt myself; I didn't look for a way to calm down.

I just cried. I cried until I didn't have any tears left and I was shaking. I thought about Rose, and how some people told me that she was in a better place now. And how some people only laughed at me, and told me that I deserved it. What did I ever do to deserve it? Sure, I was a little rude to Potter, and he returned the favor, but what did I _really_ do?

And then there was Potter, who was practically stalking me. I heard the whispers in the hallways.

"Harry thinks that Malfoy is up to something."

"I wonder if it's true that Malfoy killed the girl. How come he isn't expelled?"

"Look at him. Malfoy _is_ up to something. Harry's right. Harry's always somehow right."

"How come he isn't eating? He looks so depressed. I wonder why. I wonder if he couldn't keep up with You-Know-Who's assignments."

My fellow students' words haunted my brain. I thought about what Rose would say if she saw my hysterical behavior right now, or at every night ever since she died. She would probably laugh, and tell me to stop crying over nothing. But this wasn't anything. And she wasn't here. She never would be.

I stood up and punched the wall as hard as I could, and winced at the sound of bones smashing. I looked at my knuckles, which now had blood running everywhere and pain searing through them.

"I wish she were here," I told myself aloud. And it was true. I did wish she were with me. I wished that she didn't leave me. I wished that I could tell her how I felt. And that I was sorry that I was ever an asshole to her.

I decided to go up to Dumbledore's office. He would know how to consol me, that was for sure. I needed some consoling, I felt so alone. The gargoyle moved aside without making me say anything. I went up the spiral staircase and heard voices.

"It's because of that stupid girl, isn't it? He went into depression for that bitch," I heard my father snarl, and I turned the corner to see Father in a rather heated argument with Dumbledore. It was too late to hide now, they both saw me.

"Rose wasn't stupid, and she certainly wasn't a bitch," I said, my voice trembling.

"Then please explain why you're crying like a little girl over her," Father snapped, rolling his eyes.

"Because," I started, swallowing. "Because I-I love her."

There. I said it. And both men in front of me stared at me. My father stared with pure disgust and anger. But Dumbledore stared at me with uttermost pride.

"Draco, you have accomplished more than I can tell you today," Dumbledore beamed.

"I do. I do love her, it's not an accomplishment. It's the truth," I said stubbornly. And with that, I turned and ran to my dorm.

I took my knife and slid down the wall to the floor. I sat on the floor, the tip of my knife pressing against my chest.

'I'll be with her. I'll get away from Father. I'll be happy,' I thought to myself, but before I could finish what I started, the door opened and someone stood there. I didn't look up to see who it was. I didn't really care. They walked over to me and wrapped their arms around me. It was obviously a female. I closed my eyes, too embarrassed to look at the person. They slowly slid the knife out of my hand and away from me.

"Why would you do that?" she asked. I recognized the voice. My head shot up and I opened my eyes. Rose sat there, with her arms around me, my knife having been thrown about three meters away. It really was her. Her golden eyes searched my icy grey ones.

"Because…I wasn't with you," I said, before bursting out in tears. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her onto my lap, tightly in my arms. She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I'll explain later," she promised, before pulling away just enough to look at me. I calmed down, wiping my tears away. She leaned her forehead against mine.

"I couldn't do it, without you. I couldn't. You were gone, and everybody was staring and laughing, and I-I love you," the words slipped out of my mouth, and my brain seemed to give up on stopping any information from running out of my lips.

"What if I love you too? What would you do if I told you that?" she asked. My heart leapt. So she felt the same. I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. I kissed her for a while, before pulling back to breathe. She smiled.

"That's what I would do," I said, a small smile on my lips. She leaned in this time, kissing me until I felt as if my heart would burst out of happiness. I had never felt this before, it was such an alien feeling to me, but it felt good. Better than pain. It felt a lot better than pain. I heard footsteps behind us.

"DRACO!" my father bellowed.

Oh. Shit.

ooOOoo

_**AN: Please, please review! I'm dying to know what you think! What do you think will happen?**_


	7. Chapter 7

I looked up, breaking away from her lips.

"Yes, Father?" I asked, lowering my eyes to the floor.

"You imbecile child, what do you think you are doing?" he asked, positively annoyed by now. The door burst open and there stood Professor Lupin, a look of urgency on his face. Once he saw us tangled together on the floor, he was rather pleased, and shoved Father out of the way. He helped us both up and started leading us away.

"What do you think you're doing, _Remus_?" Father asked.

"Malfoy, I don't need your bitching right now. I need these young adults. Now."

I noticed that Father was rather offended looking, but whether it was from Lupin saving us or from Lupin using his last name when he used 'Remus', I couldn't tell. Lupin led us to Dumbledore's office and marched us up the stairs. In Dumbledore's office, Pomfery, Potter, Snape, and Dumbledore were sitting, chatting quietly and urgently.

"I brought them," Lupin said, sitting me down in a chair. Rose sat down in my lap, without any hesitation. Snape cast an amused look, before rolling his eyes and turning back to the conversation.

"Why are we here?" Rose asked.

"Because while you were unconscious, Malfoy stayed with you, and I walked by the hospital wing. I heard voices. And by voices, I mean Malfoy and somebody else's. I don't know who, but it was a male's," Potter snapped.

"Sirius Black," I answered, perfectly serious. Dumbledore took in a sharp breath, and Potter looked pained, like he had just been stabbed.

"Tell us the truth, Malfoy," he snarled, holding onto the chair so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"It is the truth," I replied blandly.

"He's dead. There's no way," Potter said, looking at the floor. Rose giggled.

"Of course he's dead. But that doesn't mean that he can't show himself," she said matter-of-factly. Potter looked up at her, suddenly lunging. I held her close to myself, to protect her, but Snape caught Potter and threw him back in his seat.

"Never. Again. Potter," Snape threatened, glowering at him.

"IF HE COULD SHOW HIMSELF, HE'D BE WITH ME AND I WOULDN'T FEEL LIKE DYING EVERY NOW AND THEN!" Potter roared at Rose. I narrowed my eyes, my lips going into a thin line, into a facial expression that was very Snape-like.

"You don't know what it's like to want to die every single day of your existence," I said. "I do. And let me tell you, Potter, you don't want to know. I told you the truth. I saw Sirius Black. If he was dead or not, I couldn't tell, but he just looked at her, told me a couple things, and then left. Oh, yeah, you might not want to lash out like that to your god sister anymore." With that, I simply picked Rose up, and got up.

"WAIT!" Potter yelled, before I could get out of the room.

"What?"

"G-God sister? Since when?" he asked, looking at her.

"Since Lily Potter baptized her," I said, rolling my eyes. I could practically feel Snape's heart breaking into shards as I said the name.

"Yep, bro, better be nice to me. I'm a couple days older," she said, giggling.

"Don't. Don't call me that," Potter said, but his tone was soft. Her eyes glinted with mischief and she resembled the Weasley twins, although she was still in my arms.

"Aw, be nice to your sister, we're practically twins. We're born three days apart," she said.

"We're not twins."

"You are so stubborn. Have a little fun with your life. You don't have to worry about being hurt over and over by someone who you are supposed to look up to," Rose said, getting down from my arms. "And you don't have to worry about people finding out that you weren't even the child of the woman that is married to your father."

Then, she turned, and took my hand as she rushed out of the office. I went with her, smiling slightly. So she understood more than I thought. And she confronted Potter with it. She took me outside and into the Forbidden Forest. We sat there for what felt like forever. She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"You know I went up there, right? And He told me to go back. It was awfully pretty, and everything seemed painless and nice and perfect. He told me that you needed me. I was the light in your life, and I needed to go back. Although I fulfilled my destiny, I needed to help accomplish yours. I guess I know what's going to happen now, at least vaguely. It's really nice. He said that Eden was ours if we truly could fulfill our prophecy. But it won't be easy," she said. "He told me to close my eyes and count to ten. I did so, and when I reached 10, I opened my eyes. I woke up in a muggle hospital, to many cheers. I could only laugh, and they were confused. But it wasn't their deed that made me live with those electrical shocker things. It was Him. He let me live. For you."

"For me," I repeated, kissing her forehead. "And you agreed. For me."

"I couldn't turn off the only light in your life," she said, smiling.

That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my face, holding onto Rose tightly. And she held onto me too.


	8. Chapter 8

We woke late again, and she only laughed at my sense of déjà vu. We went to the Great Hall for breakfast, and she insisted that I sit with her at the Gryffindor table. There were gasps of horror as I sat down.

"Why are you here?" Potter, who happened to be sitting parallel of me, asked.

"I'm here with my girlfriend. Isn't that nice that I'll practically be your brother soon?" I asked, with a smirk. Potter cringed.

"Yeah, it's great that my future brother is a ferret," Potter snapped.

"Oh, Potter, that isn't very nice. Not when you are a two-faced rat," I said, standing up. I tilted Rose's face up and kissed her in front of everyone, before I turned and left the Great Hall. Rose ran after me, and I also heard footsteps running after her. I hid behind a statue and winked at her. She then turned, and faced the other person. It was Potter.

"You are a disgrace, don't you know that? You're a _Gryffindor_, and you're dating the snobbiest, worst Slytherin there is, and you stand up for the bloody git! And then you're supposedly my family!" Potter yelled at her. She looked down.

"I love him; there isn't anything I can do about it. And he goes through so much; don't judge him before you know him. I am your family. I don't try to be a disgrace, Harry," she said, her voice cracking.

"Well, you're the biggest disgrace I've ever met! I'd rather not have any family at all, than have you as a god sister! Dating Malfoy! I've never heard of someone being so stupid! He'll only break your damn heart, and I won't pick up the pieces!" Potter screamed. "If you want any respect from me, then I suggest dropping the bastard. Get yourself together, you slut."

And then I couldn't believe what happened from there. Potter slapped her across the face. Potter slapped her. She didn't move or make a sound; she just stood there, motionless, rooted to the spot. He slapped her harder, knocking her to the ground this time.

"You're absolutely worthless; I hope you know that, you American bitch!" Potter stormed away and I dashed out of my hiding spot to Rose. She was sobbing. I kneeled down next to her, and cradled her in my arms. I let her cry until she could speak. When she calmed down, she looked up at me.

"Am I really worthless? A disgrace?" she asked, her biting her lip. I shook my head.

"You are worth more than Potter himself. He, the one who has been written about in book after book, cannot do what you did. He can't just take someone insulting him. He can't stand up for anyone, really. If anyone's the disgrace, it's him. Although I'm sure he can love, he can't love as much as you. Never," I promised her.

That day, she was especially quiet, and stayed glued to my side. I was very happy that she stayed so close, but I was amazingly mad at Potter. Instead of snickering and teasing him, I glared at him until he would flinch away. When night came along, Rose took me to her dorm again. She was still very upset about the incident this morning, and I suggested that she tell Snape. She shook her head.

"I don't want to make trouble for him," she said quietly, sitting down on the bed. I sat next to her, and pulled her on my lap. Silent tears were slipping down her cheeks. "I don't want to make more of a disgrace of myself."

"You're not a disgrace," I cooed softly. "He just needs to keep his nose in his own business, and not call people sluts. All that shit with the 'Chosen One' might be true, but that does not give him the right to say that. I promise you that I won't let him say that ever again." She was crying again, and she buried her face in my shoulder. I held onto her tightly, leaning my head on top of hers.

"I'm really sorry. If you weren't with me, he'd never have called you that. I guess it's my fault," I said, tightening my grip on her.

"But if I wasn't dating you, if I didn't love you, where would you be right now? Where would I be? We'd both be unhappy, that's for sure. I regret nothing," she said, rubbing her still slightly pink cheek. She looked up at me.

I leaned in and kissed her. I lost my balance and fell back, taking her with me and still kissing her. I felt her smile in the kiss, and that made me smile. I wanted her to be happy. I could feel the passion of the kiss growing stronger and stronger, and before I knew what I was doing, everything went uphill.


	9. Chapter 9

A couple of hours later, Rose was lying next to me, her head on my bare chest, listening to my still rapid heartbeat.

"You know that was my first time too, right?" I asked her, my breathing heavy.

"There is absolutely no way that was your first time," she said, her breathing heavy as mine.

"Well, not physically, no. But it was my first time emotionally…" I trailed off. She must have understood, because she didn't ask about it. Her breathing got quieter and I realized that she had fallen asleep. I smiled, watching her for a moment before I drifted off to sleep as well.

I awoke with a sudden bang on the window, my eyes flying wide open. It was still dark and I could feel Rose tightening her grip on me. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked down at her. She was looking at me, a puzzled expression on her face, which was shining in the dim moonlight.

"What was that?" she asked, now looking at the window.

"I don't know, love. All I know is that I'm awake now," I replied, smiling.

"I could have guessed that much myself!" she laughed quietly. She got out of the bed and walked to the window to look out, shivering. I got out of bed as well, and went over to her, wrapping my arms around her body. There was nothing unusual outside, but we stood there, bathed in moonlight. She looked up at me when I gazed down at her. We didn't exchange words, but there was this warm, good feeling. Love.

A few weeks passed, pretty uneventful, except for the fact that Rose seemed to be sick every morning. She still insisted that she should go to classes. She persisted that there was nothing wrong with her and that there was nothing wrong with a little morning sickness every now and then.

I did notice, however, that she avoided looking Snape in the eye. She was also sending and receiving more letters. She let me read over them, and I did. They sounded like she was talking to an old friend. I came up in the conversation often, and so did her friend's 'man'. They never mentioned his name. I wondered why, but I decided not to be so snoopy. Rose stuck by me and evaded danger with a distance. She also became very close to Madame Pomfery and McGonagall, although she spent most of her time curled up on my lap while we did homework. I couldn't complain, it was nice to have her so close.

"When you have children, what do you want to name them? Just give me one boy and one girl name. I'm curious," she said one day out of the blue. I wasn't expecting this question.

"Well, I don't really know. I just know that I'd like one of my future sons named Scorpius. I'm not sure about a girl name," I responded, taken aback by the subject completely.

"How about Estella? Is that a nice name for a girl?" she asked.

"It sounds very nice, yes. But…why are you asking?" I posed, raising an eyebrow. I noticed her arms draped around her waist, holding onto it tightly. "And what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just cramps," she said, her cheeks turning pink. "And I was just curious. That's all."

Soon, she was asleep on my lap, her head on my shoulder. And I pieced everything together. Her morning sickness, her embarrassment, her closeness to mother figures as well as me, her being protective, and most of all, her asking about baby names. She was pregnant. It had been at least a month. I kissed the top of her head, waking her up gently.

"Love, why didn't you tell me that you were pregnant?" I asked her. This startled her, and she turned a deep scarlet.

"Because I was afraid someone was going to hear. And I was scared that everyone would think I'm a whore, and I don't want to kill it."

"Shh, we don't have to kill it," I said in a soothing voice. "I don't want you to get rid of it." I placed my hand on her stomach, smiling.

"It's been over 18 days. That means that it has a heartbeat already," she said, grinning. She was proud.

"I'm a father," I said, the fact just hitting me now. "Does Pomfery know?"

"Yes, that's why I've been seeing her so often. She says that it's ok."

I kissed her and she kissed me back, smiling in the kiss. Rose was pregnant with my child, and this brought joy to me. It should have worried me greatly that I was a father at 16, but it didn't bother me at all.

I was overjoyed by the thought.


	10. Chapter 10

I became more and more protective of Rose, if I wasn't before. I jumped in front of her to anyone who might have posed a threat. Most people shot me weird looks, probably thinking that I was insane. It didn't take long for Snape to notice how strange we were both acting. He held us back after class one day.

"Can you please explain why you two have been acting so peculiar for the last week? Not to mention that it's been a month since you've been unable to make eye contact with me, Rose," he said, raising an eyebrow. My heart plummeted to my stomach.

"Uncle Sev, I would tell you, but you'd either laugh or explode and cut his head off," Rose said, taking a deep breath and looking at the floor.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, can you please explain this to me? You seem to be the one in more panic, so I believe I'll get the information out of you easier. Whether you agree or not," he said, holding a small vial with clear liquid. It had a slightly larger density than water, and I recognized it as Veritaserum. Shit.

"You want the truth, so I'll give it to you," I said. Rose looked up at me with big eyes. "She's pregnant with my child. I love her, and I love it. And we're not killing it. That's final. You know the truth now, and I will not have this torn away from me."Snape choked on air, collapsing in his chair.

"She's…pregnant? At sixteen?" he squeaked out. Rose nodded.

"I am pregnant. It's been around a month and a week now. It has a heart, which is beating, and a tiny little soul. We're not getting rid of it, Uncle Sev. I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but I'm not killing it," she said, lifting her shirt slightly, to reveal a small bump in her flat stomach.

And at that point, Snape started crying. He wasn't bawling, but silent tears were running down his cheeks.

"Rose…you have disappointed me in so many ways, and yet this…it doesn't upset me as much as it should. I should be yelling, but…it's…" Snape couldn't finish. Rose smiled.

"We're naming it Scorpius if it's a boy or Estella if it's a girl. I think it's a boy, but who knows?" she grinned, letting her shirt cover her stomach again and wrapping her arms around me.

"I'm far too young to become a great-uncle, Rose. And I feel very old. But you knock yourself out with the baby names and the little booties, because it's going to have to stay with its grandparents, either gender. I refuse to let you drop out of school for a baby. You will finish your education. That is that. And so will you, Malfoy, don't give me that look," he finished. I nodded once, wrapping my arms tightly around Rose.

Snape suddenly turned to the fire, which now blazed green. He made a frantic hand motion to the storage room, and I ran inside, taking Rose with me. I shut the door, sitting on the floor with my ear pressed against the door.

"Severus," I heard a sickingly familiar voice greeting Snape.

"Yes, Lucius? Can I help you?" Snape asked.

"There is a meeting in an hour. Today, at headquarters. Bring my son. Or else. Severus, you better bring the boy."

"Very well, Lucius, I'll bring Draco," Snape said, before I heard Father stepping into the floo. The store room door opened and I almost fell forward, but Rose held onto me.

"I suspect you heard that," he said, in a strange, hushed voice. I nodded, casting my eyes to the floor. Rose held onto me tightly.

"It's ok. You have to go, please don't cry. I'll be ok. We'll be ok," she promised. And only then did I notice that tears were sliding down my face now. I felt…evil. And I didn't like this.

Rose coaxed me into going, for my own safety. And she was right. As soon as I was seated next to Father, he gave a you-did-the-right-thing look to Snape. Voldemort started blabbing about destroying Potter and such. I fell into a deep daydream until he ordered for someone to be brought in. My head snapped up and I nearly died right there when I saw Rose being led in by another Death Eater.

"Why am I here?" she asked softly, keeping her head down.

"Ah, Rose, you are here because you are a half-blood who needs some straightening out. You claim that you have seen your 'Heaven', or whatever you may call it. And your Lord. That's what bothers me most," Voldemort said, in his hissing voice.

"Well, I did see Heaven itself, and I did see Him. I saw Jesus Christ Himself. And He told me to come back down to Earth. For Love. For helping others to fulfill their destiny. There is no other Lord. No matter what you call yourself," she spoke, harshness in her voice. She meant business. "You'll end up in the fiery pits of Hell, Satan himself running away from you and letting the last bits of your soul melt in the rivers of burning fire."

"ENOUGH! Stupid girl! Lucius, you know what to do."

"I will stand tall for what is right," she said, her voice hushed and dangerous, her eyes gleaming in the dim light.

Father pointed his wand at her. "Crucio!" he yelled. This time she was screaming in agony and pain. She fell to the floor, shrieking.

"LUCIUS MALFOY, IF YOU WANT TO LIVE UNTIL TOMORROW, YOU DROP THAT WAND RIGHT NOW! YOU NEVER HAVE THE RIGHT TO HURT A PREGNANT GIRL IN ANY WAY!" Narcissa, who was now standing, bellowed at Father. He was so surprised that he literally dropped his wand. It landed on the floor with a soft clinking noise. I rushed over to Rose, who was trembling and crying on the floor. I scooped her up in my arms and went back to the table.

Only two things I could be sure of. One: Narcissa had stood up for my pregnant girlfriend and knew that she was pregnant. Two: It was the first time Narcissa ever stood up against my father.

And it was for Rose.


	11. Chapter 11

Rose was in a hysterical state, bawling. I tried my best to calm her down, but the awful truth was gnawing away at my heart.

Meanwhile, the rest of the room was holding their breaths, staring wide-eyed at Narcissa. No one just blew up like that at Father. No one. And for the first time in my life, I saw Bellatrix's cold, cruel, pain-seeking eyes soften as she shifted her gaze to Rose. Bellatrix got up and walked over to us.

"Bellatrix," Voldemort hissed, warningly, at her.

"Shut up! Just shut up! Because of you, I know what it's like to lose a child!" Bellatrix howled at Voldemort. He was quiet after that, and didn't dare say anything more.

Tears were running down my face, leaving red streaks and blurring my vision. The oh-how-usual throbbing headache of crying was back.

"Lucius, I hope you burn in Hell too. You hit your own son, you killed the love of his life which was lucky on your side that she came back, and now you've gone and killed their precious, un-born _baby_. If you've forgotten, Draco is a half-blood wizard, and the Malfoy family name is no longer pure blood because your stupid choices. I believe that he has every right to choose who he loves now and who he will marry. It's who he _wants_ to marry. You have no right to Crucio your future daughter in law! Especially if she's pregnant with your grandchild!" Narcissa roared at Father.

"My child. You killed my child," I squeaked, my voice shaking, and I tightened my grip on Rose. "How could you kill your own grandchild?"

Father looked like he was about to puke his heart out. I'd never seen this expression on his face before, a mixture of pure horror and burning guilt.

"I-I didn't know sh-she was…I wouldn't have…I-I…" Father stuttered and trailed off.

"You would have gone against me, Lucius, my most faithful servant?" Voldemort asked, rather amused.

"For the love of Christ, I would have! The Malfoy family name means nothing now! I've been a terrible father! I'll bet you anything that you knew! You wanted me to kill my grandchild! You wanted me to tear my family apart piece by piece!" my father cried. To anyone new in his presence, he might have appeared drunk. But I knew that this was one of the first times in a long time that he was actually sober.

Rose looked at him curiously now, still curled up tightly in my arms. She shivered and I realized how exceptionally cold it was in the room. I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms all the way around her small figure. She closed a hand over a small pendant that she always wore. It was a simple cross, hanging on a loose blue lace string. I noticed this cross every time she fell asleep in my arms. It occurred to me that she never took off this necklace.

Rose suddenly stood up and walked over to Father. She took off the fragile necklace for the first time I've seen and placed it in his hand.

"Do not apologize to me. Pray for forgiveness from Him," she said softly to Father. Father closed his hand around the necklace and lowered his eyes to the floor, nodding.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU FREAKS OF NATURE!" Father suddenly bellowed at the Death Eaters, who were watching the scene before their eyes curiously, his head snapping up to glower at all of them. They got up and scrambled to the floo, not wanting to get on Lucius Malfoy's bad side for the world.

"You'll regret thisss," Voldemort hissed, before disappearing into thin air. Only we, the Malfoy family, that is, Rose, and Bellatrix remained in the room. There were alarm bells ringing in my ears and I felt desperate to go away as far as I could. I went to Rose and wrapped my arms around her now shaking figure.

"He'll kill you all. For me. I'm not worth as much as you, you shouldn't have done that," Rose said softly to the adults.

"I was pregnant once, and happier than could be. But because of a similar situation, I lost my child too. I still miss my baby, and my husband refuses to try again because he was as heartbroken as I was. Please don't give up," Bellatrix spoke gently.

"We won't. We lost our child, but that doesn't mean that we'll just give up. Isn't that right, love?" I asked Rose, kissing the top of her head.

"There is no way that we're giving up. But maybe it was for the best. I mean, we aren't even married," Rose said, turning her head to look at me. I kissed her, and she gladly returned the kiss. Father was still clutching the necklace tightly, so tight, in fact, that his knuckles were turning white. But he had a soft, guilty expression on his face. He looked like he was expecting to be struck.

Rose and I went back to Hogwarts, a bit shaken. Rose took me to her dorm. I was sleeping in there a lot recently and I didn't mind it. She curled up and I curled up next to her, spooning her. This time, I didn't cry myself to sleep alone. We were both crying.

Our baby was dead.


	12. Chapter 12

Rose was very distant from then on. She paid attention to the world around her, but she refused to speak to anyone except me and Snape. Lupin occasionally got a few words out of her, but that was it.

She stiffened whenever someone other than me laid even a comforting hand on her shoulder. She refused contact with anyone except me. She was silent during meals and answered with short nods or shakes of her head.

"It's my fault. It's my entire fault that our baby is dead," she told me one night, quietly. "I protested against Voldemort."

I had shaken my head. "You did the right thing. The last thing I would have ever wanted you to do was _agreeing_ with him and joining the awful, death-seeking rituals I feel that I won't be attending anymore."

She had kissed me then, curling up tighter in my lap. "We'll have to try again, as she said," she said softly. I knew that by saying 'she', Rose meant Aunt Bellatrix, although she didn't really know who Bellatrix was.

"Let's wait until we finish school, shall we?" I asked, kissing her cheek. She nodded.

"That seems to be a good idea. God, it's cold," she said, summoning a blanket and throwing it over herself so that she was a shivering bundle that sat on me. It was December, but it wasn't that cold. The fire was blazing, but then again, I had grown up in a house that felt like December the whole year round. She fell asleep in my lap once more, as we both dreaded going up to the dorms. I took this time, as always, to really look at her. Her dark brunette hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and some strands of hair were falling in her face. I brushed them away gently, pulling her close. Her eyes were calmly closed, and the corners of her mouth were turned up in the closest thing I've seen to a smile in the past month, ever since the Death Eater meeting.

I kissed her forehead before getting up with her in my arms and carrying her to her dorm. I laid her down tenderly and crawled in next to her, pulling the blankets over both of us.

All the teachers looked at us with big, sorrowful eyes. I guessed that Snape had angrily spilled everything after he got back to Hogwarts. They realized that we weren't about to talk so easily, and rarely called on us. And if they did, they only called on me, and they got a short, stern answer. Rose also was very tense and lashed out at anyone who dared say anything malevolent to me. That was the only time she spoke to anyone else. To yell at them.

Once, Lupin cornered us, and took us to Snape's office. Snape gave him a curt nod and left the office.

"I have heard of your misfortune, but it's been a month. You must move on," he spoke gently, as if he was carrying porcelain.

"That's easy for you to say. But you haven't _felt_ your baby die. You haven't been through that," Rose spoke quietly, but there was a harsh edge to her voice.

"But you're 16! You can't possibly have had a child in Hogwarts!"

"It was a mistake, but we still loved it, Lupin," I answered.

"I realize this, but you couldn't have kept it here. You two teenagers are unfit to care for a child. And you must continue your education. I see that this has destroyed you, but you must move on," Lupin said tiredly.

"It's not our fault that your true love died, and we both know who I'm talking about," Rose said, with a small smirk that resembled Snape too much. Lupin turned a bright pink.

"That is none of your business, but since you must know, I do miss him very much," he countered.

"_Him_?" I asked, my jaw dropping open.

"Him," Lupin confirmed.

"Remus, we'll be fine. Really. There's no depression," Rose said. "We're just mourning our baby. We'll get over it. We'll try again."

Since when was she on a first name basis with Lupin? It didn't matter, I realized soon enough. It mattered that she was talking.

"Alright. Please do not sink lower than you have to," Lupin said, and then we left. I suddenly felt so much more confident.

"How's it going, ferret?" someone sneered behind me. I expected it to be Potter, but when I turned, it wasn't. It was Zambini.

"What is it?" I asked jadedly.

"I heard from someone that your baby died," he drawled. Utter shock and pain filled me. "Awh, look guys, he's upset about that unborn creature or whatever it may have been."

"It wasn't a creature. It was a baby. It had a little heartbeat and a tiny little soul. Imagine losing your baby. Your child that you loved," Rose spoke quiet, but she was tense.

"And then there's the bitch with the dead pup," he snarled. Seeing our hurt expressions, his turned into an amused expression.

"I'm not a dog," Rose said in a harsh, yet very dangerously quiet tone.

"Of course you're not. You're a wolf," he smirked.

"Break it up," someone spoke behind us, and Blaise turned and ran. I looked behind us, and saw Lupin.

"Thank you, Professor," I said, adverting my eyes to the floor. He didn't say anything.

"I'm so sorry that you had to hear that," Rose said. "He really shouldn't have stooped that low."

"Rose, it's quite alright for me, but I was wondering what might have made him say it."

"Well, he called me a bitch with a dead pup. I told him that I wasn't a dog, so he stooped lower," she said.

"I see. Well, I cannot give him detention for simple teasing, but that was low," Lupin said.

"I should have said something, it's really my fault for not standing up for my girlfriend," I insisted. Lupin gave a nod, and then told us to be off, as it was late. We went to my dorm this time. I opened the door, talking softly to Rose, my arm around her waist. I stopped short when I saw Father. He was drunk again, I could tell.

"Draco. Rose," he slurred. He was drunker than I expected. At least he used her first name. Rose shot me a be-careful-and-let-me-do-the-talking look. I gave her a nod.

"Mr. Malfoy, how can we help?" she asked, with an award winning smile plastered on her face.

"I…I just needed to give Draco something," he said, pulling out a small velvet covered box and tossing it to me. I dove and caught it by chance. I shoved it in my pocket quickly.

"Thank you, Father," I said, returning to Rose.

"Mr. Malfoy, why don't you sit down? You look sick," she said. I admired her smooth choice of words.

"I-thank you," he slurred, sitting down on my bed.

"I'm getting Pomfery and the Headmaster," she whispered in my ear and ran off. I was left alone once again with the man that hit me year after year, day after day. The man who made me ashamed to live. I looked down, and I didn't dare say a word to him.

"Draco?" Father beckoned to me. I looked up.

"Yes, Father?" I asked, avoiding eye contact, the way I had been taught through punishment.

"Why don't you speak to me? Why don't you make eye contact? Are you scared?" he asked. I looked down again and nodded quickly.

"Why are you fearful?"

"Because you have taught me only fear and darkness. And I am scared that you will hit me again. I am scared that I will be punished for something that I didn't do."

"I have Crucio-ed Rose. The first time, I did not punish you," he said.

"You tore away my happiness. That is punishment," I said, showing him my hand, which still had very faint burn marks.

"I have called you worthless before. Which, you are. I shall not lie that to me, you are worthless," he said. My vision started watering.

"I know. I am a half-blood. I am not worth anything to you, because all you could ever care about it social status."

"And that just proves how worthless you are. You _don't_ care about such crucial things for a good life."

"I have love. And that is all I need," I answered, straightening up to my full height, my eyes clearing. "I have love."


	13. Chapter 13

"But you are still worthless. You are not worth my fortune. You are not worth anything. You're just a disgusting half-blood. You might as well have ended up in Gryffindor, for all you're worth for my family," Father slurred threateningly.

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU DISOWN ME, YOU AWFUL, UN-HUMAN, VILE EXCUSE FOR A FATHER?!" I suddenly lost all my self control.

"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" Father snarled, getting up and swiftly approaching me. I never got the chance to answer, as Rose burst in, along with Pomfery and Dumbledore.

"Mr. Malfoy! You are unfit to stand right now!" Rose told him, backing him up to sit on the bed. She met my eye and smirked, before turning back to him. Pomfery and Dumbledore were doing all they could not to laugh as Rose babied Father into humiliation.

"Rose, I am perfectly alright, WHAT IS THAT?!" Father wailed. Rose tilted a bottle of potion to his lips, making him drink a vile looking, _pink_ liquid. Father suddenly sobered up and then realized what was going on.

"Why am I here?" he asked, holding his head. Rose thrust a bottle of a potion into his hands.

"There's your hangover potion. And by the way, you shouldn't drink yourself silly like that. STAY!" Rose howled as Father tried to remove a muggle thermometer from his mouth. He dropped his arms to his sides obediently. She then plucked it out of his mouth and read whatever it said.

"What is that…contraption?" Father asked, bewildered.

"It's a thermometer. You have a fever. Just because you killed me does not mean that I'm going to let you suffer," she said.

Her words made my heart cringe. How could she forgive him so easily? And yet, she did. And she wasn't going to let him suffer, although he made her suffer. I didn't know how she could do that. She snapped her fingers, and treated Pomfery like a nurse. She obviously had some knowledge of this. Father was ill for the next week, and Rose took care of him. She searched his pockets to find a couple items.

First of all, she found the necklace with the cross that she had given him. She put it over his head, and let it hang from his neck when he was unconscious.

Second, she found a picture of me. Of _me_. I was so shocked when I saw it that I lost my balance. It was me when I was little, smiling and giggling. It was hard to believe that I ever smiled like that. But what shocked me more about that picture was that I was in Father's arms. And he was smiling and laughing with me. He was only about 18 and I was only about 2. He had been handsome when he had been 18, and reminded me of myself in too many ways.

The third item brought tears to my eyes. It was another photo. It was a photo of a girl, about 16 or 17, laughing. She was beautiful. She had dark blonde hair that was curly and murky green eyes. She glowed when she smiled. I had always wondered why my hair had slightly curled. And why my eyes turned a murky green when I was happy. This was my mother. My _real_ mother.

"That's Estella," Rose whispered from behind me. "Your mother."

"I know," I said, my voice breaking as if I was looking at a picture of my dead mother. She probably was living a grand life with some great man. I realized that I was glad that she didn't stay with Father. She was pretty and young, and she deserved a good life. She was probably around 33 or 34 now, just like Father. He had kept a picture of her. He had really fallen for her, I realized. And he was torn away from her because of what his family probably urged him to do to make her hate him.

Most students had gone away for holiday. So it was Rose and me and my still ill Father. Who knows why he had tried to poison himself? On Christmas day, Rose woke up and pulled me down to the hospital wing.

There, sitting next to Father, sat a woman, talking quietly with him. They heard us come in and turned towards us. It was my mother. And she was smiling. And so was Father.

"Draco, I want you to meet Estella. Your mother," Rose said softly, as my mother stood.

Without thinking first, I rushed into her arms, tears pouring down my face.

"Mother," I croaked the word unfamiliar in my mouth. Sure, I had called Narcissa this, but never with sincerity.

"Draco, it's been 16 years since I last saw you, how do you think I feel?" she asked, and I grasped that she was crying too. She had an American accent, just like Rose. She let go of me, and I was as tall as her. She was wearing heels. She held onto each side of my face, examining me as I was crying.

"He has a picture of you that he carries around everywhere," I sobbed, unable to hold it in anymore.

"I know, I know," she told me quietly, wiping my tears away. She pulled me into a tight hug again.

"Are you married now?" I asked her.

"Oh, no, I'm not married. I've been looking for someone, but no one wants to accept me and my son," she said.

"Your son? I have a half-brother?" I asked, my eyes growing wide.

"Not a half-brother. A twin," she said. "You have a twin. You see, I was too young to take care of two boys at 17, so I plopped one into your Father's arms, you, that is. I named you Draco because I thought that as long as you are the son of Lucius, you are certain to be a little devil. But you're not, and I see that now. And I'm sorry. But I've forgiven your father a long time ago, so don't think that I'm going to lash out at you too," she said.

A boy, the same age as me, walked into the room. "Mom? Can I come in now?" he asked, his American accent evident as well. My mother nodded.

"Come in, honey. You need to meet Draco. The twin I've been telling you about for ages," she said, with a proud smile.

The boy came closer and examined me while I examined him closely. He had the same hair color as our mother. _Our mother_. And that same murky green eye color as her.

"You must be Draco," he said, sticking out his hand. I shook it.

"I am. I guess I'm your twin," I said. He nodded, grinning.

"Twins," we both said at the same time, grinning identical grins. I had a brother. A twin. Just like I always had wanted.


	14. Chapter 14

I thought of that week right before I met my mother. And my twin, for that matter. He never told me his actual name. He just told me to call him "J", and so I had no other option. I was so frustrated and hurt and I just really couldn't explain my emotions. How could Rose forgive that cruel, awful human being so easily? He was sick and she cared for him, sleeping little, but making sure that I slept. I had such confusion.

"How can you do that?" I had approached Rose once. Rose looked at me curiously.

"How can I do what?" she had asked, meeting her hand with mine. I squeezed her hand and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Forgive that demon that I have to sadly call my father. And you're caring for him. You're not taking care of yourself. You need sleep," I said, kissing the top of her head.

"He needs to be forgiven. He was drunk and I was playing on that, but then I found out that he really was sick. I couldn't have just let him be sick. Apparition would have hurt him. He's a sick man. And I'll be ok, baby. I was planning on just taking a break today anyways, Pomfery can take care of him, and he's still unconscious."

And then, I finally understood. She couldn't stand for _anyone_ to be hurting. It didn't matter _who_ it was. It mattered that they were not in pain. She was hurting on the inside still. So was I, but I no longer slumped my shoulders and winced whenever someone brought up the subject. I just became ridged. She, I saw, just cared for whatever came across her path, trying to fill that gap. I pulled her tighter in my arms.

"You don't have to do this, you know," I whispered to her.

"I know. But…it still hurts, Draco," she said quietly.

"It hurts for me too. It hurts a lot," I told her, lifting her up to her toes. There is an advantage to being the taller one.

"I'm tired," she murmured, leaning her head against me. I picked her up in bridal style and carried her to my dorm. I then laid her in my bed.

"You need your sleep," I sighed, running a hand through her hair. But she didn't hear me; she was fast asleep. I got up and walked to the hospital wing, and then I examined the picture of me and Father that Rose had found. I didn't notice that Father had been awake. I failed miserably to hold back tears that dropped on the picture.

"Does it surprise you?" Father asked, making me jump out of my skin, and literally collapse to the floor from the chair I had been sitting in. I still clutched the photo in my hand. I nodded sheepishly.

"I-I thought you didn't care," I choked out, getting up and sitting back in the chair.

"Of course I care. You're my only child, Draco," he said. I looked at him through my tears, and I smiled a sad smile.

"I never thought of it that way," I said. He suddenly reached out and took one of my arms. I began seeing stars at the horror of the truth that was about to be revealed. He lifted up my sleeve, showing my many self harm scars.

"And to know that I made you do this…it sickens me, Draco," he spoke quietly, examining the scars closely.

"Can I keep this picture, please Father?" I asked suddenly, looking at the picture again. He looked at the picture too.

"Yes, you may keep it. I have others," he said.

"And that other picture…is it really my mother?" I asked. He nodded.

"Her name is Estella."

"I've heard."

"You are very lucky to have Rose."

"She keeps me mentally and emotionally stable. I love her, Father."

"I know you love her. Have you checked that box that I have given you?"

"No, why?" I asked. I had completely forgotten about it.

"Look at it," he urged. I pulled out the box, as I had carried it around with me everywhere. I didn't know why I had such an emotional attachment to it. I opened the small box to see a large silver ring with a ruby in the form of a heart, surrounded by diamonds, on it. It was a beautiful ring and I knew why he had given it to me. I smiled.

"Thank you."

"I was going to give it to your mother. But they forced me to…well…she ended up breaking my nose before I could even utter a sound the next day. It is yours to give to Rose now," he said. I looked up at him, grinning. He did care. He cared about my true mother. And he cared about me. He was smiling weakly.

We made small talk until he lost consciousness again, and I left to go to Rose, the ring tucked away in my pocket.

Now, I was happy. I hadn't proposed to Rose yet, and meeting my mother and brother cancelled my plans temporarily of proposing on Christmas day. I finally got her alone when Estella and "J" were deep in conversation with Father. I took her a little further in the hospital wing, my palms sweating. I finally chose a spot to stop and I smiled at her, very nervous.

I dropped to one knee and pulled out the box, flipping it open. I didn't even have to say anything, because Rose cupped her hands over her mouth and nose, tears streaking her cheeks as she nodded over and over again.

"Yes. Yes, Draco," she cried as I stood up, taking the ring out of the fragile box. She gave me her hand. She was shaking just as much as I was and I surprisingly got the ring on without any difficulty. It fit her finger nicely, and I realized that it had to have some charm on it. She threw her arms around me, sobbing now. I hugged her back.

"KISS THE GIRL, YOU WIMP!" my twin called, making my cheeks start to burn, but Rose just pulled away from the hug and crashed her lips onto mine.


	15. Chapter 15

The rest of the holidays went by quickly; I often spent time hip to hip with Rose. She grinned at everyone, looking up at me time and again. A group of first years asked her why she was so happy.

"Because I'm in love," she answered, looking down at the smaller children.

"Is he who you love?" one of them asked, pointing to me. I beamed at the kids.

"Yes, I do love him," Rose said wrapping her arms around me.

"Prove it!" another squealed. The first year girls were excitedly giggling and watching us intensely. I leaned down and pressed my lips to Rose's. The girls squealed louder and I laughed, pulling away from her lips reluctantly.

Rose's eyes twinkled, looking up at me. We were both exchanging the same look, trying not to laugh.

Suddenly one of the girls yanked my arm towards her. I yelped, remembering that my sleeve wasn't pulled all the way down.

"What's this?" the girl asked, gesturing to the cuts, with big eyes.

"It's nothing," I said softly. "Don't worry about it."

"Did you hurt yourself?" she asked, running her fingers over the scars.

"Darling, it's ok. He'll be ok. He didn't do it for a while," Rose spoke quietly to the girl.

"But why did he start doing it? We're not exactly 6 year olds. We know what cutting is," the girl's friend spoke.

"Do you know who he is?" Rose asked, scowling now.

"He's the bitch of Slytherin."

"Just. Go," Rose growled. She actually growled. I snaked my arms around her waist to prevent her from attacking the children. The girls went big eyed, and dashed away.

"Rose…" I started. She looked at me with big, sad eyes.

"I'm sorry. But that was just rude. You do not call my man a bitch."

I rolled my eyes. "You are so protective."

"I need to be protective."

"I still hurt, too, you know. It was my baby too."

"I know. But…I just felt so protective of it and I miss it and it was…ours."

I kept my arms wrapped around her small frame. "Do you want to go visit Father now? We haven't visited for three days now," I offered. She nodded.

We walked over to the hospital wing, where we greeted Father, who was wide awake.

"Hi, Mr. Malfoy. How are you feeling today?" Rose asked, sitting down on the chair next to the bed.

"I'm feeling quite well, thank you," he replied, stretching.

"Good morning, Father," I said with a smile.

"Morning, Draco," he welcomed me. I sat on the bed, next to him.

"How does it feel to have your son be engaged at 16?" Rose asked him. He chuckled.

"It certainly feels strange. A good, happy strange. But strange indeed. How does it feel to be engaged to the one you love?"

"It feels wonderful," I answered for Rose. She giggled and nodded.

"I can only ponder what it must feel like. Narcissa…well, she was beautiful. She was pure-blood. Wealthy. But I didn't, and still don't, _love_ her."

"Mr. Malfoy, you aren't wearing your wedding ring," Rose pointed out.

"I haven't for a while. I broke the marriage…let's see…4 years ago. But that didn't mean that she moved out. No. She had to stay. She has to. Legal documents and such."

Rose gasped, and then giggled. "Yes! Oh my God, that's so perfect! This is like…movie perfect! Oh my God! Let me get the tissues!" she squealed.

"Rose? What are you going on about?" I asked. Father was grinning. He seemed to understand her hysterically happy state.

"Can't you see? She forgave him! But not because she _just _forgave him! You don't _just_ forgive something like that unless you have a reason!"

"You may go see her and exchange your female talks about the subject, while I try to explain to my hard headed son what's happening," Father chuckled. Rose nodded and dashed off.

"What was that all about? I don't get it," I said, sitting down in Rose's seat.

"You see, I've been in contact with Estella for a couple years now," Father started. I nodded. "She's forgiven me for what I've done. She was more like my best friend. And we started revealing things that we just didn't tell anyone about our Hogwarts years. And one thing leads to another and we found out some information about one another that made us both flush. Anyways, things are finally starting to go the way that I wanted them to quite a few years back."

Rose and Estella both burst into the room, giggling like drunk teenage girls.

"I demand mine to be first!" Rose yelled.

"I met him first!" Estella argued.

"We weren't born when you met him! That's not a fair comparison!"

"But I gave birth to his twins!"

"I was pregnant too!"

"I was waiting forever!"

"At least I didn't break mine's nose!"

"I was mad!"

"I had fair sex and I wanted it!"

"I wanted it too but not exactly in that way!"

"Draco, we deserve our wedding first, don't we?" Rose asked.

"Lucius, we were engaged first, we deserve our wedding first!" Estella said, crossing her arms.

I choked on air. I had not expected this. Rose and Father were both dropping obvious hints, but it actually took the two girls arguing which wedding to be first for me to realize that Father and Estella were engaged. This felt nice, and well, right.

"Estella, I believe that we should have ours first, as this should have happened a long, long time ago," Father said.

"How about a double wedding?" I asked. All heads turned to me. I couldn't even believe the words came out of my mouth and my cheeks were starting to burn.

"It sounds wonderful," my mother said, beaming.

"Estella, we have to go out together to buy wedding dresses!" Rose giggled. Estella nodded.

"I know the best places! Trust me! I've been through this!"

"Oh, I know! I've started planning since I was 7!"

"Me too! I've always, since I was 11, imagined Lucius at the end of the aisle, waiting for me! And now it's happening!"

"I've imagined Draco there since I saw him on the train! My heart just died when I saw him. I mean, it's not every day that you see a guy that is Greek god material! Especially if he has…well…wings…"

"Wings? Oh. My. God. When I saw Lucius for the first time, he had wings too."

"Were they torn up and bleeding?"

"Yes!"

"OH MY GOD!" they chorused. An hour later, we were all sitting together, the date of the wedding decided. The date was June 24. I would be married before I started my 7th and final year at Hogwarts. Not that I minded. I love Rose so much.

I kissed Rose, simply because I wanted to.

"My wife," I mumbled to her.

"My husband," she mumbled to me.


End file.
